The better teams in the NBA tend to have a clear-cut identity. The lesser teams flail and pretend, spending months or even years in futile search. This is a good time to acknowledge Mark Jackson's coaching skills, because the Warriors seem to call up a reputable identity at will.

Andrew Bogut took the floor for the first time in 38 games Monday in Toronto, and the Warriors were instantly cohesive, undoubtedly drawing rapt attention around the league. Without Bogut, they had fought through the handicap to become a respected, apparently playoff-bound team in the Western Conference.

On Tuesday night in Cleveland, they took the floor without Bogut and Stephen Curry, not to mention Carl Landry and Harrison Barnes, and despite fielding lineups seldom seen all season, they staged a ball-movement clinic in a comfortable win over the Cavaliers.

It's too bad there's such a constant tinge of anxiety surrounding this team - and you know why - because there is sublime beauty in its ability to adjust.

Every team throws out a stinker on occasion. In fact, they Warriors served up two to open the trip, Jackson blaming it all on "a lack of effort and commitment." But there's too much energy and spirit on the Warriors to cause any great concern on that count.

It's the notion that Bogut or Curry could go down, hard, at any time, ruining a season so full of promise.

If Bogut can't play back-to-back games on his surgically repaired ankle, there's no point in getting overly excited. We expect big-time athletes to return at full strength after a long layoff, ready for anything. Unless the Warriors' plan changes drastically, Bogut will play only one of two important games (at Houston and Oklahoma City), Feb. 5-6.

If the existing strategy fails and Bogut remains limited after the All-Star break, there are back-to-back assignments Feb. 19-20 (Utah, Phoenix), Feb. 26-27 (Indiana, New York) and March 1-2 (Boston, Philadelphia) to consider.

Put it this way: If Jackson gets an awkward sprinkling of games without Bogut, and the Warriors don't miss a beat, he'll be performing one of the greatest coaching jobs in either conference.

Every time Curry goes down - and you almost have to expect it now - the Warriors want you to believe it's no big deal. Ridiculous. It's a huge deal. We have evidence beyond question that his right ankle is weak, fragile, ready to buckle at any time. How could you possibly think otherwise?

His mental toughness is hardly in question. He's a fabulous, All-Star-caliber player with a bad wheel, an intensely cruel fate for the man, the franchise and the fan base.

Now flip the emotional scale, and put belief in what's happening around the Bay Area sporting scene. The A's came from nowhere to surge boldly into the postseason. The Giants faced six elimination games and still won the World Series. The 49ers reached the Super Bowl largely on faith - Jim Harbaugh's, in a young quarterback.

So we're very big on faith these days. Warriors fans have played that card for years, packing the joint in Oakland with precious little reward. But now comes a team with serious playoff potential, a cut above the rest, with more talent and - with Bogut - a more legitimate half-court offense than the 2007 "We Believe" bunch. The images from Monday are especially fascinating.

On his very first touch, Bogut faked to his right and scored on a pretty left-handed floater. He blocked two Toronto shots within a 10-second span. He made several nice connections with David Lee, saying later, "We're both high basketball-IQ guys, so it's not like we need to practice together for a month to get to know each other."

Lee even said he felt like a better defender, after just one night, "because he's constantly talking to me and constantly rotating to get my back."

The third quarter brought the long-awaited sight (we're talking decades) of the Warriors dumping the ball down low to a big man, who then draws a double-team. What a dream scenario for Curry or Klay Thompson - and a half-dozen others, come to think of it - in the creation of open space.

This wasn't anything close to the tentative, frustrated Bogut we saw at the season's outset. He did everything well. The Warriors went into a half-court set playing 5-on-5, imagine that, after months trying to work around Festus Ezeli and Andris Biedrins. They're getting first-hand evidence why players around the league savor the option of playing alongside a Tim Duncan, Marc Gasol or Brook Lopez (to name a few) with a crucial possession at hand.

Identity is no longer a crisis word around the Warriors' organization. It's more about faith right now. If this team's chances hang by a thread, perhaps it's made of steel.